Local Hoops Poll Week Nine: Additional Pithy Comments

But first, a message from John Feinstein, who sent me an e-mail today that ended with the following two lines, concerning the pithy comments that appear in the newspaper:

"Are those really reader comments or do you make them up? They seem a little too clever for real people..."

Ha! Too clever for real people! John was joking, btw, but still, this ought to become the Atlantic 11's slogan. I mean, that's just as good as "Yup, these are my readers," right?

Oh, and this guy is selling all sorts of Tony Kornheiser swag for charity, and I'm trying to get him to make some Atlantic 11 swag. Clearly, any swag should quote John saying "A little too clever for real people" on the back. If I get a President's Day bonus this year, I'll personally buy those t-shirts for everyone who's voted more than 83 percent of the time.

Anyhow, the comments. Remember, they were all written before the week started.

1. Georgetown

Nice win streak against a bunch of crappy teams. VCU could beat St. John's with its JV roster. (Steve Argeris)

Be careful what you wish for, Hoyas fans - taking the top spot in this poll is like appearing on a Sports Illustrated cover. (Eric Swensen)

Every team I put at number one loses the next week. Louisville or Marquette: take your pick. (Frank Dale)

The worst part of my Super Bowl hangover was waking up knowing that I would have to rank this team #1. It wouldn't surprise me to see them lose 4 straight games. (Jamie Paquette)

Ah! There you are, Georgetown! We've been waiting for you... (Glenn Arnold)

The ACC's Reign over this poll is finally over! (HoyaSinceBirth, use real names if you wanna get in the paper please)

No. 1 merely by default. (Matt Mandel)

About to enter the 'challenging' part of their Big East schedule. (Thigh Master)

2. Virginia

Apparently, Sean Singletary is the lovechild of Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer. (Sean McLernon. Btw, Sean, one of the kids I lectured to at yesterday's high school seminar knows you. You used to date his sister or his cousin or something. Small world.)

3. Virginia Tech: Seth, buddy, what happened? Right the ship before you're .500 in the ACC...and staring at a NIT bid. Since when did the hoops team adopt the football team's strategy of "Early Season Success, Late Season Collapse"? (Gheorghe the Blog)

Hokies playing Beamer Ball (a.k.a., choking in the second half of the season). (Matt Bonesteel)

Oh Hokies, we hardly knew ye. (Matt Mandel)

No-longer top area team is still a short 4 1/2 drive to see play. (Scott Jackson)

Two losses this week allows a team within a 250-mile radius of D.C. to take over top spot. (Ted Gotsch)

You see any other 20 win teams on this list? Didn't think so. (Gheorghe the Blog)

If they were looking to take a page from George Mason's 2006 playbook, they should have skipped the section titled "Lose to Hofstra, But Get In Anyway." (Jamie Paquette)

Maybe those "next George Mason" comparisons were a little premature, especially since VCU's mascot doesn't do the Cabbage Patch. (Eric Swensen)

I'm tired of all this mid-major love. It's crap. I'm all for supporting the little guy, and making sure deserving teams are not left out, but there is no way that VCU would be 20-4 in the ACC, no matter how watered-down it is. The pendulum of sympathy needs to swing back to the BCS powers, and yes, I am typing this on a Microsoft-based computer, drinking a Starbucks coffee and wearing a Yankees hat. (Steve Argeris)

5. Maryland

Next three games: Home Duke, at N.C. State, at Clemson. And a Gary Williams blood vessel just burst. (Sean McLernon)

Winning on the road by only five against Wake Forest: almost as good as a loss. (Ed Lee)

Game this week vs. the Cavs was to decide once and for all which is the greatest country on earth, Mexico or Portugal!

I was going to coin flip between VTech and UMD, and then I just put UMD lower because I knew it would irk Gary Williams if he knew. (Robert Lintott)

Anyone else get the sense that the Terps are about to go on a major tear and run the table? Yeah, me neither. (Matt Mandel)

Resurgent Terps like their odds of making the tournament based on their late-season conference schedule. Well except for those two against Duke, and those two against NC State, and those games against, Florida State, UNC and Clemson. (Bryce Onaran)

6. George Washington

They were once in the A-10 driver's seat. After that Saint Louis loss, they're stuck in the back seat between a couple of fat guys. (Tim Lemke)

Hobbs got two technicals on Wednesday, and was heard asking to be given one on the telecast Saturday. Such histrionics work much better than, you know, actual coaching. (Matt Bonesteel)

After last week, the GW coaching staff has bigger problems than what we think about them. (Eric Swensen)

Karl Hobbs asks official for a technical at St. Louis but doesn't get that call, either. (Bill Fitzgerald)

A week of overachieving at underachieving, well done Karl Hobbs. (Also worth noting, GW Women are the area women's team with the fewest losses and best winning percentage (.904), take that Twerps... please give them a 1st place vote from me.) (Robert Lintott)

Carl Elliott: Best local player with two first names your grandfather might have? (Markus Videnieks)

A 20-win pace means GW students are paying $2,000 per victory. And apparently not majoring in economics. (Bryce Onaran)

7. Old Dominion

Big Blue is distressed that beating Mason twice no longer counts as important in the eyes of the Committee. (Paul Campbell)

Valdas Vasylius Fun Fact: Vasylius' name in English roughly translates to "Many Pithy Comments for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Lithuania." (Glenn Arnold)

Where else can I legitimately type the phrase: "I'm looking forward to the ODU-VCU showdown this week?" (Robert Lintott)

There are three constants regarding these comments: Karl Hobbs jokes, references to riots at Maryland, and one-liners about Mason not returning to the Final Four. I'll leave it up to someone else to fulfill the last one. (Frank Dale)

The former Final Four team is now the fifth best squad in the state. (Sean McLernon)

They are just about the peak, any moment now. (Ted Gotsch)

After scoreless overtime vs. ODU, Patriots seem to be taking this Agent Zero business a bit too seriously. I blame Steinberg. (Matt Bonesteel)

Life comes at you fast, Jim Larranaga. (Bill Fitzgerald)

UNC Wilmington? Are you kidding me? (Matt Mandel)

Nowadays everybody want to talk like they got something to say. But nothing comes out when the move their lips, its a bunch of gibberish, and the Delaware Hens act like they forgot about Dre (Smith). (Markus Videnieks)

After failing to register a point in overtime against ODU, Patriots prove what kids attending Mason and living with their parents have known for years: it's awfully hard to score at home. (Bryce Onaran)

9. Loyola

If Loyola wins the MAAC and makes the NCAA tournament, will they show Bo Kimble sinking left-handed free throws? Will anyone complain? (Bryce Onaran)

Has as many conference wins as they do total loses. What does it all mean, Alfie? (Thigh Master)

Hate to say it, but their matchup against Tennessee State may be the least compelling of all the BracketBuster games. But at least they made it. (Tim Lemke)

Anybody else looking forward to the inevitable Marist-Loyola rematch in the MAAC title game? No? Just me? (Sean McLernon)

Choosing a #9 team is like choosing something to eat in a high school cafeteria. (Thigh Master)

10. Towson

The best .500 team in the country... really. (Nathan Fennessy)

If the Tigers keep this up, they'll play themselves right out of the draft lottery. (Bill Fitzgerald)

Is this the week Gary Neal and Towson are finally ranked higher than #10 in the Poll? Apparently not. (Glenn Arnold)

Actually had a game in which Gary Neal wasn't their leading scorer. Seemed worth mentioning. (Jamie Paquette)

11. William & Mary

Sometimes you get the Will; these days you are getting mostly the Mary. (Dan Y)

Also Receiving Votes

Radford: My beer pong partner after the super bowl was from Radford and we won a bunch of games. Go Highlanders! (Nat Elliott)

Liberty: I like the concept of Liberty, and they won four in a row in conference. Their mascot should have been the Bells. (Andrew Wiseman)

Hampton: This isn't a vote celebrating Hampton; it's a punishment for all the teams ahead of them who lost. "Big" wins over North Carolina A&T and Bethune-Cookman. (Paul Campbell)

Coppin State Women: The Lady Eagles set a conference record this past Saturday for most consecutive regular season wins with 33. In the 58-53 win over Delaware State, guard Rashida Suber became the ninth player in school history to go over the 1,000 point mark. (Gary Digital Williams)

Okay, Big Stein, here's what you do ... go out and rent the Godfather Trilogy. Watch parts I and II and use part III as a coaster or let your dog chew on it. Then watch part I again and pay close attention to Clemenza at the end. That should explain my pithy comment. Then watch part II again because it's just that good, and it explains the finer points of a philosophy of life that you should find very useful in your chosen profession.

You think that's better Chico? Personally, I never really knew anyone at Georgetown who gave Maryland more than a second thought, and yet for you Maryland being bad is better than Georgetown being decent.